According to South China Morning Post, China's Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit filed by a Chinese consumer against Apple's China entity on antitrust grounds can proceed to Shanghai court.
The case involved Jin Xin, who demanded Apple to stop charging a 30% commission on purchases in the China App Store and to allow Chinese consumers to make payments through wallets other than Apple Pay. Jin Xin argued that the prices of in-app services offered by Apple's App Store, including video app iQiyi, podcast app Himalaya, and music app NetEase Music, are higher than in Android app stores – possibly as a result of Apple's 30% App store commission. He further cited the Anti-Monopoly Law in accusing Apple of anti-competitive practices. No ruling was made on the lawsuit itself; however, Apple's request for the case to be dismissed was turned down -"In its ruling published last Monday, China's top court said Apple had potentially abused its market position and undermined competition".
This could open the opportunity for more consumers to file similar complaints against the tech company.
Source: SCMP
